3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Galveston County, Texas.
Verified from official government sources
Galveston County cannot set setbacks—Texas counties don't zone. Cities do: Galveston's R-1 district requires a 20-foot front, 3-foot side, and 10-foot rear setback, with accessory structures 3 feet from side/rear lines. Beachfront and floodplain rules may still govern placement.
Galveston LDR Sec. 3.305(A)
Minimum Setback. Accessory structures must meet the following setbacks: 1. 3 feet from the side property lines...; 2. 3 feet from the rear property line or 0 feet to an alley or right-of-way; and 3. 6 feet from any habitable structure.
The county can't zone, so it sets no height limit for unincorporated areas—only FEMA flood-elevation rules apply. In the City of Galveston, R-1 homes are capped at 50 feet measured from base flood elevation; the Broadway corridor caps buildings at 3 stories or 45 feet.
Galveston LDR, Single-Family Residential (R-1), Building Height
Building Height Maximum: 50 feet, measured from base flood elevation.
Galveston County can't zone, so it sets no lot-coverage percentage—but coastal drainage and floodplain rules limit impervious cover. The City of Galveston counts all building footprints plus impervious pavement as lot coverage, crediting pervious paving at 75%.
Galveston LDR, HDDZ, Subsec. K (Lot Coverage)
Lot Coverage. Lot coverage shall consist of all building footprints plus all impervious pavement (asphalt or concrete) on the site. Where areas are paved with pervious materials such as pavers, grasscrete, turf blocks, permeable asphalt, or other pervious material approved by the City Engineer, only 75 percent of the area shall be considered impervious cover.
1 cities in Galveston County have their own building setbacks & zoning rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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